Tennis Pro Joey Teases a 'Bachelor' Finale 'We Have Not Seen Before'

The Bachelor is back!

Tennis pro Joey Graziadei has made Season 28 a huge hit, getting strong ratings and launching a social media frenzy with buzzy viral moments—on and off the screen.

While the long-running show was blasted as boring in recent years, Gerry Turner’s senior version, The Golden Bachelor, revived the franchise. And handsome Joey, 28, has breathed new life into the original, giving fans plenty to talk about.

Viewers saw the hunk navigate bullying accusations and whittle his women down to the final six—Jenn Tran, Kelsey Toussant, Maria Georgas, Daisy Kent, Kelsey Anderson and Rachel Nance—including controversial Maria.

While spoiler expert Reality Steve has claimed to know Joey’s winner, previews of the finale hint at an unprecedented shocker that leaves The Bachelor in tears.

What more can viewers expect from the tennis pro’s search for the love of his life?

Joey, 28, sat down for a Zoom 1:1 interview with Parade to dish about the rest of his season. We chatted about those crocodile tears in the finale teaser, a long engagement, his hopes for Dancing with the Stars and more.

What went into your choosing your final six ladies?

“I think there’s always surprises that come, relationships that you didn’t expect to get to that point,” he said. “But I think the main thing to touch on with that final six is that I had one-on-ones with each and every one of them. So, it wasn’t a question if I was still waiting for a connection to build. There was already one that had built” with all of them.

Still, Joey admitted controversial Maria being in the final six was the biggest wild card. “I think with the back and forth in the beginning, and the things that were going on with Maria, I didn’t know if it would get to that point. We both talked about that, because there was a lot we had to work through. As you saw, in Montreal, we were at a good point and she has every right to be there.”

How will this Bachelor finale be different?

“I can’t tell you much but I am being told that it’s a finish that we have not seen before and I’m just happy to see people are getting invested in this whole entire story and interested to see what the finish is going to be.

“I think people will be surprised…if it is something someone hasn’t seen before, I don’t think you can prepare yourself for what it’s going to be.”

You appear pretty emotional in the finale teaser. Describe in general your feelings at the finale.

“There were real emotions. It’s hard to describe what the emotions were because it gives too much of what the ending is. I’ll say that was the final day, those were real tears and I think you’ll understand where they come from as you watch the rest of the story.”

You told Lexi Young that you wanted a long engagement. Is that something you're sticking to

“I can’t speak to the fact that I am even engaged [now],” Joey told Parade, keeping his finale decision close to his chest. “But I can talk more on what I was trying to explain [to Lexi]. This is a unique and different experience where if you end up with someone, you’ll be engaged to them after only knowing them for a certain period of time.

"And in my life, when I thought about being able to do something as serious as getting married, I would have wanted to at least been able to have two to three years with that person, so, since you don’t have that usual amount of time where you would wait that long to get engaged, I think that it’s different, where you [should] have a longer engagement. I tried my best to explain that but I also explained that that can always change. Feelings are different. They are hard to plan out and that comes from the person you’re with.”

Could you see yourself doing Dancing with the Stars?

“Yeah, I could!” he said. “It seems like a really fun opportunity. I know there was some buzz about it during the [Bachelor] flamenco [dance] date [with Rachel] because I was trying to dance. I’ve been able to talk to [Bachelorette] Charity [Lawson] through the experience that she just had [on DWTS] and it seems like she really enjoyed it. It’s something I’m open to.”

What happened when you mistook Gypsy Rose Blanchard for Ruth Bader Ginsburg?

Joey recently apologized after mixing up the Munchausen by proxy victim who was involved in the murder of her mother and the beloved late U.S. Supreme Court Justice.

As Parade previously reported, a video from the game that Betches shared on YouTube showed Joey as he answered a series of prompts, starting with one that asked him to identify a photo of Blanchard. The Bachelor declared, “I do know who this person is,” before suggesting the photo was of Ginsburg.

“Is it Ruth? No?” he guessed. “Ginsburg? Something like that. Am I wrong?”

“I know that she had something happen where she went to jail because of her mom,” he said.

Joey then visited the White House, where he met with press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. In a video of their meeting that The Bachelor later shared on social media, Graziadei was again confronted with his mistake.

The video posted on Instagram showed Jean-Pierre pointing out a photo of Ginsburg.

“I’m so sorry,” he said as Jean-Pierre laughed. “I knew that that wasn’t actually her in the photo,” he added.

In his interview with Parade, Joey said about his mistake, “I hope it made me relatable. If you watch, you can see I knew who Gypsy Rose was. I had no idea who her name was. So, she looked like a Ruth and that was the first Ruth who came to my head and I made a slip up and I owned up to it. I can’t really take it back now.”

Did you meet President Biden at the White House?

“I sadly didn’t,” Joey said. “They reached out to us to be able to go get a tour of the White House. I didn’t even know who I was going to actually be able to meet that day. I really just went for the opportunity to be able to see part of our nation’s history. It was amazing to be able to meet some of the people that I got to meet there [Jean-Pierre, Vice President Kamala Harris, and her husband Douglas Emhoff]. They were all so kind and one of those things you don’t really think you’ll ever get the chance to do.”

Do you keep in touch with Golden Bachelor Gerry Turner?

“Gerry actually sent me a DM the other day and told me how much he’s enjoying watching [my season] and gave me some kind, encouraging words. I’m sure I’ll get the chance to link up with Gerry again soon and talk more about it. Gerry’s a great man that I think has a lot of wisdom to give to anyone,” the tennis teacher said.

How does you keep your lips soft for all the kissing on the show?

The Bachelor said “nothing crazy. I don’t really think too much about that.” When asked about his go-to lip balm, however, he replied, “If you want the actual product, I think Burt’s Bees is the one that’s in my pocket if I need it.”

What do you think about the high ratings this season?

“I’m obviously grateful,” he noted. “I love to see that…I think it has to do with the women. I’ll always let them be the ones that shine because they’re being vulnerable, they’re sharing really important things about themselves. I think people are feeling real connections which is great.”